Seasons of Love
by moosmiles
Summary: Its the gangs senior year.
1. MAYBE DALEY, MAYBE LOVE, MAYBE SICK

_Title: Seasons of Love  
Rating: PG-13  
Chapter: One - MAYBE DALEY, MAYBE LOVE, MAYBE SICK  
Summary: Its the gangs senior year.  
Other sites the fic can be found: Possibly later.  
Disclaimer(s): I don't own anything but the idea. I think Discover Kids owns all the characters so far... I'll say if I own anything else. Based off of RENT's "Seasons of Love"._

"Its almost over!" Taylor shouted as she jumped up in the air into Eric's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He cupped her cheek in his hand and supported her with the free arm as they kissed softly on the lips.

"Yup, only... one hundred and thirty-four days left," Nathan added, wrapping an arm around Daley.

"Um, Sweetheart, that's... one hundred and thirty-_five_ days," she corrected as the group of six friends walked down the street. "Today was our first day and there are one hundred thirty-_six_ days in the school year," she explained, shaking her head.

"Mel'..." Jackson started as their friends walked ahead of them. The two friends walked hand-in-hand together down the street.

"Jackson..." she cut him off and placed a kiss on his lips, gently massaging the inside of his mouth and catching him off guard. At first, he stood in shock, but then responded by returning the romantic soft kiss.

He suddenly pulled away, dropping her hand from his. "Mel', listen to me... I know this might seem harsh and I love you, but... you're more like my sister and the more we're together, the more I see that," he explained softly, his hands set on her shoulders.

She stared at the ground, pursing her lips together tightly, as if in depressed deep thought. She then nodded, looking up at him sadly and smiled. "Friends?" she offered.

"Friends," he agreed with a relieved smile. She then moved to give him a hug. When he obliged, returning the hug, she rubbed his back and pecked his cheek. "I love you, Mel'," he added.

"I love you too, Jackson," she said as they pulled away and together the two friends proceeded to follow their friends.

Daley covered her mouth as, once again, she started to cough. That's when Nathan noticed how pale she had gotten through the day. And although they had gotten out early, she seemed as if she would pass out with exhaustion.

"Love, are you alright?" he asked, whispering in her ear as she slowly wheezed her breathing to normal.

She nodded, being as stubborn as ever, replying, "Of course I am. I'm just a little shaken up. After all, it is our senior year." She gave him a brave smile as if covering something up.

"Dale, you're pale and..." he paused to feel her forehead with the back of his hand and his eyes went wide with the temperature. "You're burning! That's it... you're going home," he ordered.

"Nate, I'm fine. Really," she assured, kissing his cheek and walked inside the malt shop behind Taylor and Eric.

Nathan groaned as if he knew he screwed up somehow and walked into the glass wall of the malt. Daley gasped, covering her mouth as she sat beside Taylor.

"Nathan," Melissa exclaimed as he pulled away from the wall, holding his nose with one hand and rubbing his forehead with the other. "Are you okay?" she asked, pushing her hair out of her face and behind her ears.

"Yeah," he assured, walking stiffly into the resturant.

"Are you sure?" Jackson questioned in concern.

"Yeah," Nathan repeated, sitting across from Daley and took her hand in his.

Daley smiled, pulling her hand out of his and ran her index finger through her hair. But when she pulled it out, she found a small lock of her bright strawberry hair had come out. She quickly balled it in her hand, making a fist. "Excuse me," she muttered and rushed to the wash room. She stood before the mirror, staring at her hand holding her hair in horror. Looking up at her reflection in the mirror, she started to sob to herself.

"Is she okay in there?" Nathan asked, twenty minutes later, stirring his chocolate shake with his straw nervously.

"She's fine," Eric said with a careless shrug, receiving a sharp glare from Jackson.

"I'll go check on her," Melissa offered, getting up and headed to the bathroom. Her mouth dropped when she found Daley on the ground in the feitle position, crying her eyes out. "Daley," Melissa said, squatting down next to her and rubbed her back. "Oh, Daley," she sighed, pulling her in her arms to comfort the weeping teenage girl.


	2. Who I Am Hates Who I've Been Part 1

_Title: Seasons of Love  
Rating: PG-13  
Chapter: Two - Who I Am Hates Who I've Been Part 1  
Summary: Its the gangs senior year.  
Other sites the fic can be found: My LJ.  
Disclaimer(s): I don't own anything but the idea. I think Discover Kids owns all the characters so far... I'll say if I own anything else. Based off of RENT's "Seasons of Love"._

Melissa smiled softly as she and Jackson sat at the malt shop, watching Nathan lead Daley outside and down the street home, and, since Taylor and Eric had already left, they were alone.

Melissa looked over at Jackson and turned red as she quickly hung her head away from him. He chuckled nervously, staring down at the ground and scratched the back of his neck sceptically.

She pulled a few dollars from her tan and brown camoflouge colored purse and slammed it on the table as she stood up. "I better go," she muttered and took her leave, going the opposite way of Daley and Nathan.

He sat there in restless silence, yerning to follow her, but knew better. He groaned inwardly and counted her change she had left, to find she had put one too many dollars on the table. He smiled to himself as he sat there, thinking up a plan.

_29Dwn_

Taylor stood pacing in her bathroom as she awaited the five minutes anxiously. Eric stood outside the door, surprisingly, quiet to give her peace and space.

She glaced at the clock on the bathroom wall and took a deep, soothing breath as she closed her eyes, before picking up the pregnancy test. The bathroom started to echo her sobs off the tile walls. Dropping the stick in the sink, she stumbled to the door and opened it to fall into his arms, nodding her head against his chest.

Eric encaved her in his arms and gently stroked her back in comfort to calm her. He stood there, pressed against the wall, letting the shock sink in that his girlfriend was pregnant.

After a few moments, he slowly led her to her room and set her down on her bed to rest, grabbing the cordless pink, Taylor had everything pink, phone off her desk.

"What are you doing?" she asked werily, rubbing her aching stomach to ease it.

"Calling your doctor," he stated calmly, plopping down next to her on the bed and sat up, placing his free hand on her thigh while waiting for someone to pick up. "Hi. This is Eric McGorril. I'd like to make an appointment for Taylor Hagan." At this, Taylor groaned painfully just thinking about what her doctor would tell her parents and what they would say about this sudden situation. "Yes, that will be fine... Okay, thank you." With that, Eric hung up and patted her thigh, leaning down and pecking her forehead in comfort.

He laid down next to her and she took his hands in hers, staring down at them and placed them on her stomach as she looked into his fearless eyes. She closed her eyes, her face turning despressed and scared.

"Taylor," he sighed, his barrier of confidence shattering slowly before him as he watched her lay there crying. He pulled their hands from her stomach and set them on the pillow their heads lay upon. She looked back at him and shook her head in denial. He kissed her lips gently and just lay there with her in comforting silence they both would need.

_29Dwn_

Nathan placed Daley in her bed gingerly, tucking her covers around her to keep her warm as Lex walked into the room.

"Nathan... what happened to Daley?" Lex asked in concern, rushing to his sister's side.

"I think she's getting the flu... maybe a cold. I'm not sure really," Nathan replied with a shrug, gently brush Daley'a hair back with his hand. He looked over at Lex, whose mood seemed to have drop tremendously in that small answer, and he quickly added, "But I'm sure she'll be fine." Lex just nodded, leaving the two alone.

Nathan took Daley's hand in his, kissed it tenderly, then walked away, leaving her to rest. But as soon as the door closed, she shook awake, sitting up abrutly to an aching temple and groaned.

_29Dwn_

Jackson found Melissa sitting onna swing, gently gliding back and forth, her feet barely touching the ground. She seemed as if she were frustrated at something or someone and pushed all her anger into the pumping of her legs.

He chuckled slightly, leaning against the pole attached to the swings, at her actions. "Melissa, you left this at the malt shop," he informed, now calm and collected, holding up a few dollars bills in his hand as she came to an unstabled stop.

She snatched it from him, grabbing her carrier bag off the ground and started to storm off with mumbled, "Thanks."

He sighed, watching her leave and just stood there for the second time that night. He had let Melissa go, but could his feelings? He shrugged, trying to act carelessly towards the brooding Asian and headed home. 


	3. Who I Am Hates Who I've Been Part 2

_Title: Seasons of Love  
Rating: PG-13  
Chapter: Three - Who I Am Hates Who I've Been Part 2  
Summary: Its the gangs senior year.  
Other sites the fic can be found: My lj.  
Disclaimer(s): I don't own anything but the idea. I think Discover Kids owns all the characters so far... I'll say if I own anything else. Based off of RENT's "Seasons of Love".  
_  
_29Dwn_

Nathan ended up at the Hagan mansion to go talk to Taylor about what was going on. After hearing the silence inside, he was slightly worried, since Taylor and or her parents were always fighting over something. He rushed to her room and found her lying in bed fast asleep.

He sighed in relief, heading to her bathroom to get a hand lotion she had told him would be good for his skin and that it smelled like banannas. Since Daley loved banannas, he knew she'd love it.

He was walking into the bathroom, when he heard a loud crack and looked down to find a plastic stick just lying on the ground. "What the..." he started, bending down to pick it up. He examined it when he stood back up and his eyes went wide with shock.

_29Dwn_

Jackson opened his apartment door to rid of the loud rapping of a hand against the wood, only to get knocked on the head a few times. He caught Spinner's wrist in his hand, since Spinner was looking away.

"Spinner," Jackson growled, catching his attention.

Spinner looked up, his cheeks tinting a slight pink. But then he got serious, calming himself down pretty fast. "Jackson... we need to talk... about Melissa," he informed.

Jackson stood there in shock, standing aside and letting his old friend in. He didn't even know that Spinner knew who Melissa was, let alone that he had dated her. That's when it hit him. Old man Wu was Melissa's dad.

Jackson looked around outside and then shut the door, taking the seat across from Spinner at the dinning room table in the kitchen dinning room area. "What do you want, Spinner?" Jackson demanded.

Spinner sat there for a moment, pursing his lips together as if trying to think before he spoke. This action surprised Jackson, remembering that Spinner was more of an action-reaction guy. "Melissa is your friend, right?" he asked.

"Yeahhh..." Jackson said skeptically. "Look, don't be bogus, Spinner, get to the point," he demanded.

"They're not going after Mister Wu tonight. They're looking for Melissa. Hurting her will hurt you and that's all Mark, Christopher, and Cooper want," Spinner explained.

"W-why are you telling me this?" Jackson asked, stumbling a bit since his friend was confusing him slightly. "You were always an action kinda guy," he added.

"I'm trying to turn around. Kinda like you," Spinner shrugged. "I thought this would be the place to start and, who knows... maybe I'll end up like you. With friends who care, my real parents, a good education, a girlfriend..."

"Mel' and I broke up," Jackson cut in. "It wasn't working for us. Lately, we've been kinda awkward and realized we're better off as friends."

"Sorry to hear that," Spinner apologized. It wasn't until Jackson looked into his old friend's eyes that he realized how sincere he was. Spinner glaced at the clock on the wall and nodded his goodbye, "I better go. Cooper's gonna start looking for me."

"Spinner..." Jackson called as he started through the door. "Don't do it, Man," he advised, shaking his head in dismay. "Don't do it."

"I have too," Spinner shrugged and left, slamming the door shut behind him.

Jackson shook his head and rubbed his temple, praying that Spinner would see the light before it was too late. Before something bad happened to someone. To him. To Melissa. Anyone. But knowing Spinner, it was always too late.

_29Dwn_

**"Jackson, no!" she cried, begging him for her life. The young girl with hair as black as the night sky, eyes coal black yet full of so much life. She stared up at him in fear as he stood there shakily, holding the gun, terrified.**

"If you won't, I will," a harsh voice spat. Suddenly, a hand tried grabbing the gun from him and this finger hit the trigger. The young girl, without even so much as a squeel of distress, sunk to the floor dead.

"Melissa!" Jackson shouted, sitting up in bed his palms sweaty and his heart racing so fast and hard it was pounding in his head. He looked around the room frantically and found himself in the comfort of his own room. He sighed in relief, thankful enough to know Melissa was safe and out of harm's way.

_29Dwn_

"Not working my ass," Melissa spat bitterly as wiped off the table at her father's bar late into the night. "Stupid Meg decided to be pigheaded and selfcentered. 'Oh, I have a test tomorrow'. ' Oh, I'm in college'," she whined under her breath and banged her knee on a table. "Damnit!" she shouted, rubbing it.

The entrance door opened and a young boy her age walked inside. "Excuse me, Sir... we're clos..." Melissa started. "Jackson?" she questioned, now that she could see him in the dimmed neon lights of the bar. "What are you..."

"Oh, Mel'," he sighed in exaspiration, pulling her into his arms as he cut off her question. She wrapped her arms around him in return and patted his back. "Thank god you're okay," he whispered.

"Of course I'm okay..." she started and then thought about it. Her eyes went wide and she pulled away from his embrace. "What did you do!?" she demanded, her eyes now wide with fear.

"Nothing. I did nothing," he assured, when suddenly a loud bang sounded through the bar.

Melissa screamed out in horror as Jackson tackled her to the ground, under a table, turning it on its side and hid them behind it. After several minutes of loud terrifying gunshots and a panic attack from Melissa, Jackson realized they were finally gone after another ten minutes of hiding. He kissed Melissa's cheek, rubbing her back.

"So maybe I did something," he shrugged.

"You think?" she said with a glare through deep, shallow breaths.

_29Dwn_

Nathan sat at the compurter in his room. Finally, after a long hard day, being a teenager, he got to relax without any stress. As long as no one else he knew was on AOL instant messager.

**"Nathan"**.

Nathan sat there, doing nothing. He knew who it was. He knew what they wanted and he didn't want to face it.

**"Nathan, I know you're there"**.

He gave up, typing in, **"What?"**

"Please don't be mad," was the reply. He could imagine them begging him. Begging and pleading as if their life was at stake, which they both knew it wasn't.

**"For what?** he asked in reply, trying to play dumb.

**"My baby"** came their reply.

He sat there, covering his face in his hands and then once again worte. **"Taylor, I have to go"**.

**"Nathan..."**

He then clicked exited before he could get another reply from her and opened up his imternet to do a little research on teen pregnancy. His heart broke just even thinking about Taylor being pregnant, but he knew it. He knew it and it couldn't escape him for some reason.

_29Dwn_

Jackson placed Melissa on the bar, checking to make sure she had nothing more than the bruise he had given her arm when he had pulled her down to the ground.

"I'm fine," she repeated, becoming extremely aggravated with her ex-boyfriend.

"I'm just making sure. You never know. I never really felt that knife stab my shoulder. I was too numb from the adrhenalne," he stated.

"You were stabbed?" she questioned, slightly afraid to hear the story, but even more curious than anything else.

"Yup. I had gotten into a fight. My gang verse another. One of the guys punch my friend and that's how the fight started. I was the leader of my friends and the leader of the other group stabbed me. I didn't really realize it until it was too late. I had blacked out and... I woke in the hospital a few days later," he explained.

His ex-girlfriend sat there with intense, intrested black eyes as he told his story. "Wow," she breathed and that was all she could say in reply as he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her off the counter to her feet.

"You okay?" he asked, making sure her body wasn't in shock and that she could move on her own now. She just nodded as the front door opened, making the little bell jiggle, like it had when Jackson had come in about half an hour ago, in horror of their a safety.

"Yeah, we're fine," Melissa assured, not really caring who this guy was as long as she and Jackson were safe.

"Oh, um, Mel', this is Spinner, he's an old friend of mine," Jackson introduced. "Spinner, this is Melissa Wu," he said.

"Hey," Spinner said, waving his hand as a hello to Melissa. She just smiled and headed back behind the bar to get some more cleaning supplies.

"What are you doing here?" Jackson asked, picking the table he had knocked down earlier back up. "I thought you _'had to'_ join them," he mocked.

Spinner felt as if he had been punched right in the gut, but seemed calm and collected. "Nah; they're losers. I thought about what you said and you were right, Jackson. I came by to make sure you and Melissa were okay," he explained. "I better go," he said, heading for the door.

"Spin'!" Jackson called after him. He turned around and gazed at his friend. "You did the right thing," he assured. Spinner nodded and then left, leaving Jackson standing there with a proud smile on his face.


	4. Killing Pain

_Title: Seasons of Love  
Rating: PG-13  
Chapter: Four - Killing Pain  
Summary: Its the gangs senior year.  
Chapter - Daley's getting sicker and Melissa skips school to take her to the hospital.  
Other sites the fic can be found: Dunno yet.  
Disclaimer(s): I don't own anything but the idea. I think Discover Kids owns all the characters so far... I'll say if I own anything else. Based off of RENT's "Seasons of Love"._

Daley fell out of her bed at the sound of her alarm clock. Tangled in her sheets, she started to find her way out when she accidentily sliced a small part of her hand on a part of her bed frame. She gasped at the pain, sweat forming back on her brow as she grabbed a tissue from her Kleenex box and pressed it to her bloody hand. It was just a small puncture. Barely half an inch, it just wouldn't stop bleeding.

She struggled to her feet, holding the tissue to her hand as the crimson liquid bled through the other side on her oposite hand. She hurried to the bathroom and grabbed the box of band aids from the bathroom closet. She fumbled with the box until she pulled out a single package, sticking it to her still bleeding hand, her hair falling in her eyes as the box fell in the sink. She looked down in the sink and saw the small amouts of blood starting to stain the white basin.

Daley covered her face with her hands and started to cry out softly, trying not to wake up her family. She looked up in the mirror through her frayed hair and pulled it back in a ponytail. She sighed, wiping her eyes and took in a deep shakey breath.

_29Dwn_

Melissa sat in the driver's seat of her jeep with the top down, honking the horn impatiently for Eric to get to the car for his ride. Her fingernails tapped nervously on her stearing wheel, making a softly tampering sound.

"Mel', could you not..." Daley started softly, but loud enough for her friends to hear as she covered her ears and squeezed her eyes closed tightly. Everything was just too much suddenly for her.

Melissa let her hands collapse on the stearing wheel with an apologetic sigh, "Sorry, Dale."

Jackson took her hand in his, squeezing it assuringly. She looked up at him, smiling unsurely. He smiled back confidently, pecking her cheek to ease her. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him. "You're okay," he told her softly. She nodded and pulled away when she saw Eric running down the driveway to the curb.

"'Bout time," Taylor grumbled, her arms crossing over her chest. She had put on a put the second she had gotten in the car. Being Melissa's second pickup, she had to wait for everyone else to get in, besides Jackson, and then they had to go all the way to school.

"Oh, cheer up, Baby," Eric said sweetly, sitting next to her as he put his bag in Melissa's trunk. He got in next to Taylor, wrapping an arm around her only to have her pull away.

Melissa looked in her rearview mirror at the four in the back before starting for the high school. She suddenly felt a wave of worry hit her when she saw Daley's fragile state. Her body was hunched over the side of the door and looking as if she would pass out sick as sweat covered her skin. She started to sneeze uncontrolably, banging her head against the inside of the door hard.

"Dale, are you okay?" Nathan asked in concern, rubbing her back in comfort. He leaned over, kissing her neck gently to soothe her. The others started to quiet down for the two.

"Please don't touch me," Daley whispered painfully, breaking her own heart as she let a tear slip out of her eye. She quickly wiped it away with her good hand. She and Lex had finally decided that she should just wrapped her other hand after a while. "Just don't..."

"Daley..." Melissa said softly, pushing on the breaks at a red light. She looked over her shoulder, taking Daley's hand. "Dale, I'm going to drop everyone off at school and take you to the ER, okay?"

Daley looked up at Melissa as she started to break down again and nodded. "Okay..." she agreed softly before she started to sneeze again.

_29Dwn_

Melissa clicked her turn signal on as she looked at Daley, now swaddled in a blanket they had found in the trunk to sweat off another fever.

_"You're okay,"_ Melissa assured herself, looking back on the road. _"You'll get her there in time. Happy thoughts, Melissa."_ She blinked quickly to try and calm herself down as she pulled up in the hospital emergency lane.

She got out and went to the other side, picking up Daley in her arms as her friend started shivering thriugh her cold sweat. Melissa felt the hair on her arms stick up as she listened to Daley's breathing quickly slowed down.

"Dale..." Melissa whispered softly, tears entering her eyes as she felt her knees start to buckle. She shifted Daley in her arms and hurried into the hospital, trying to ignore her weakening legs.

_29Dwn_

Melissa took her pink cap off as she bowed her head and started to cry, completely overwhelmed by the situation. She had been sitting in the waiting room restlessly for nearly an hour, her body starting to get numb with anxiety. She wiped her eyes, closing them, trying not to let her smeared make up get to her as when her cell went off.

She pulled her pink cell out of her pocket and pressed the small green button. "Hello?" she answered, her voice cracking with her sob.

**"Mel'?"** she heard her ex say on the other line, sending a feeling of relief overcome her. But the sound of his voice still sent shivers down her back.

"Jackson, I haven't heard anything yet and Daley... she was so sick and... and..." Melissa trailed off, not realizing she had started to cry again as she dropped her baseball cap on the ground between her legs.

**"Just stay calm,"** he told her gently to ease her. **"The others and I will join you after school, okay?"** he added.

Melissa nodded, "Okay. I-" she started to say that she loved him, but caught herself. "I'll see you later," she corrected herself and quickly hung up her cell in embaressment. She pocketed her gaget and pulled her knees to her chest and placed her head between the balled joints to calm herself as she cried again.


End file.
